• The new WDWMAGIC iOS app is here!
    Stay up to date with the latest Disney news, photos, and discussions right from your iPhone. The app is free to download and gives you quick access to news articles, forums, photo galleries, park hours, weather and Lightning Lane pricing. Learn More
  • Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
    Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.

EPCOT Morocco Pavilion redevelopment

lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
MisterPenguin said:
You're saying that the actual placement of the Tower -- where it is situated within DHS -- was done with Morocco in mind?
Click to expand...
It‘s one heck of a coincidence that the placement ended up right there along with the changes in design. The earliest concepts, which were part of much more ambitious expansion considerations, had the Tower ride on the other side of Sunset Boulevard. The whole reason for things like balloon tests is to see how things interact with each other. For the Hollywood Tower Hotel to be so neatly coordinated with the pavilion by accident is almost impossible given all of the things that would have to go just right in the placement of the hotel and the changes to its design.
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
lazyboy97o said:
How the Swan and Dolphin came about has long been publicly known. Disney made an agreement with Tishman to get the EPCOT Center project built that allowed Tidhman to build hotels at Walt Disney World. Eisner came in, learned about this and freaked because they were free to build whatever bland box they desired. He tried to kill the deal, there were lawsuits, and the compromise was that Disney would hire the architect and approve of the design. It wasn’t a Disney design, there were objections over the sightline issues but Eisner thought they were of lesser concern than letting Graves do what he desired.

The Hollywood Tower Hotel not being design with the Morocco pavilion in mind would be multiple coincidences of placement and design. The building was sited just right to align and it gained Moorish Revival design features.
Click to expand...
ToT - together with all of Disney•MGM - is aligned on the same double grid of north-south and northeast-southwest axes as the Dolphin and Swan and Yacht Club. It makes for a harmonious ensemble and facilitates incorporating future projects.

The angle of ToT's placement was already set in stone in 1989. Its façades, like all others in DHS, could face the cardinal points, or be set at 45° of those. Through an act of fortune, this aligns nearly perfectly, but not totally, with Morocco's angle of placement, making it possible for ToT to align with both DHS, the Swolphin, and Morocco.

An art nowadays replaced by 'random stuff placed randomly wherever'. Noteable also at DHS, which has abandoned its rigid double chess board grid for meanderring pathways in the new areas. Although I understand the very idea is to feel like you are no longer in DHS as you enter Baatu.
 
Aries1975

Aries1975

Well-Known Member
Not an architect, nor a historian, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember southern Spain being ruled by the Moors for a couple of hundred years. So, there might but a little bit of Northern African architecture mixed into Southern Spanish architecture which may have led to Spanish colonial revival architecture also having a bit of Moroccan flare.
 
LittleBuford

LittleBuford

Well-Known Member
Aries1975 said:
Not an architect, nor a historian, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember southern Spain being ruled by the Moors for a couple of hundred years. So, there might but a little bit of Northern African architecture mixed into Southern Spanish architecture which may have led to Spanish colonial revival architecture also having a bit of Moroccan flare.
Click to expand...
There are certainly architectural connections between North Africa and Spain, for the reasons you suggest, but the Moorish Revival style has a number of characteristic features—horseshoe and lobed arches, onion domes, striped masonry—that are completely absent from the Tower of Terror. Interestingly, some of these features are to be found on the Japanese version of the ride, which is in an eclectic style heavily informed by Moorish Revivalism.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Aries1975 said:
Not an architect, nor a historian, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember southern Spain being ruled by the Moops for a couple of hundred years. So, there might but a little bit of Northern African architecture mixed into Southern Spanish architecture which may have led to Spanish colonial revival architecture also having a bit of Moroccan flare.
Click to expand...
Fixed that for you.
 
ULPO46

ULPO46

Well-Known Member
The budget on this thing is no where near a full tear down of the place nor a true remodel. Lets not forget priority number one is the reconfiguration of old futureworld into the IP vision of the future of EPCOT being more family friendly. If anything a new dining experience is all that will take place. The Disney of this current phase of Iger's tenure is to eliminate excess spending at WDI and parks across the world. Former King Hassan II current father of the current King of Morocco, King Mohammed VI, sent a team of Moroccan artisans to work with the Original EPCOT Imagineering team to design the Pavillion. While the events of September 11, 2001 made the pavillon a pariah for nearly a decade, Morocco remains one of the most true to detail and national symbolism of the country it was built to represent. Islamic art prohbits images of humans so if you look at the artwork of the mosaics across the pavillion you will not see any images of people.

True when Animal Kingdom was under development Joe sent in new imagineers to get a feel for what an immersive world should look like when Designing the lands of Africa (Harambe Village) and Asia (Kingdom of Anandapur). It was the latter of those two which helped on top of the love and adoration of Star Wars that made Batuu a reality. Morocco happens to be my favorite Pavillon at Disney as even well before 9/11 felt a strong connection with the pavillon as my ancestors came from a Sephardic Morrocan background. But like most of World Showcase, Morocco needs some TLC to revive the are and not just be a focus on food, booze, or IP.

My hopes with who ever becomes the next CEO of TWDC allows Imagineers to breathe life back into EPCOT's World Showcase, not in the sense of IP but to be an immersive world where our guest can truthfully experience the sights, sounds, and smells of those countries around world showcase. Not a back to roots basis, but come on with how Expensive Disney and albeit all forms of travel are for most EPCOT is the closest most guest will ever get to visiting all of the 10 of the 11 countries that are represented in the World Showcase, yes I always omit the American Experience which could also use a major facelift. Morocco if allowed could be the starting point of a revitalized World Showcase but the likelihood of it ever getting past just remodeling a dining room is unlikely with how tight current Imagineering Budgets are right now.
 
Disstevefan1

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
Previous to its closure we thought the counter service food was very high quality and we also enjoyed the table service Marrakesh.
I fear the food here will turn into same old cr@p they serve everywhere else.
 
nickys

nickys

Premium Member
ULPO46 said:
The budget on this thing is no where near a full tear down of the place nor a true remodel.
Click to expand...
I don’t want a full rebuild or remodel. I like the various replica structures, although I did miss the souk when I visited over Christmas.

But some new features would be a nice addition. I realise that it’s much more likely we’ll get a reimagined dining location.

Have to say I was not impressed to see the museum is now some rally racing simulation video game. By all means refresh the contents but the least they could do is create a display reflecting Moroccan culture.
 
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
DCBaker said:
Some activity happening here today - small groups going around with maps measuring, taking notes and photos throughout the pavilion.
Click to expand...
Interesting. Wonder what will come of it. I’m annoyed that the pavilion has numerous shuttered venues yet forces the sangria kiosk and henna artist to operate outside in a crowded courtyard. Maybe it was a test and will be given a more permanent location. Coronado Springs has shown how popular a “sangria university” experience is, maybe something similar could be ~activated~ here.
 
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
nickys said:
I don’t want a full rebuild or remodel. I like the various replica structures, although I did miss the souk when I visited over Christmas.

But some new features would be a nice addition. I realise that it’s much more likely we’ll get a reimagined dining location.

Have to say I was not impressed to see the museum is now some rally racing simulation video game. By all means refresh the contents but the least they could do is create a display reflecting Moroccan culture.
Click to expand...
The exhibit is about different races (by foot and car) held in Morocco.
 
aladdin2007

aladdin2007

Well-Known Member
They had been looking to get another company, this was floated around last year sometime and nothing seems to have come up since. company meaning third party like the one that previously ran Marrakesh etc. It sure would be nice if it could get back up and running. Such a shame to see this beautiful pavilion go from a fully operational true to itself experience, to so much shuddered nothingness. Granted, cast for the most part from Morocco are not back yet either.
 
Last edited:
castlecake2.0

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
aladdin2007 said:
They had been looking to get another company, this was floated around last year sometime and nothing seems to have come up since. company meaning third party like the one that previously ran Marrakesh etc. It sure would be nice if it could get back up and running. Such a shame to see this beautiful pavilion go from a fully operational true to itself experience, to so much shuddered nothingness. Granted, cast for the most part from Morocco are not back yet either.
Click to expand...
Very specific company to be looking for
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom